Trump’s social media firm sues Washington Post for $3 billion over defamation.

Trump’s Social Media Company Seeks $3.78 Billion in Defamation Lawsuit Against The Washington Post

Truth Social Owner Accuses The Post of Causing “Enormous” Loss

Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG), the owner of Truth Social, has filed a defamation lawsuit against The Washington Post seeking $3.78 billion in damages. The lawsuit accuses The Post of publishing an “egregious hit piece” that accused TMTG of securities fraud and other wrongdoings, causing an “enormous” loss and creating an “existential threat” to the social media platform. The lawsuit claims that The Post published nine false claims and circulated the misinformation to its 2.5 million subscribers and 20 million Twitter followers. The article alleged a series of accusations involving a bank in the Caribbean islands that offered $8 million in loans to TMTG. The lawsuit says The Post engaged agents from both within and outside the company to broadly republish the defamation. A spokesperson for The Post declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Background

Trump launched Truth Social last year as an alternative to Twitter and other social media platforms for conservative users who said they were censored and discriminated against for their political views. The legacy media outlet published the online article headlined, “Trust linked to porn-friendly bank could gain a stake in Trump’s Truth Social” on May 13, 2023, which stated TMTG failed to disclose key details about a proposed merger to the Securities and Exchange Commission and shareholders. The lawsuit claims that the clickbait headline of the article falsely insinuated that TMTG was involved in shady business dealings.